Uyghurs land construction jobs

It is understood that the four men — transferred to Bermuda from Guantanamo Bay in June 2009 — have been working with the construction and landscaping firm for the past two months.

They were let go from their jobs as groundskeepers at Port Royal in October because of budget cutbacks at the multi-million dollar course.

At the time, then Premier Dr. Ewart Brown and labour minister Colonel David Burch, the only two Government members who were involved in the initial deal to bring the Uyghurs to Bermuda, said new jobs had been found for them in the private sector. They refused to say where.

Many Bermudians complained that work had been found for the former prisoners while hundreds of locals remained unemployed.

It is understood that the initial job offer fell through and D&J Construction stepped in to offer the men work earlier this year.

The four men — Khalil Mamut, Ablikim Turahun, Salahadin Abdulahad and Abdulqadir Abdullah —were held at the notorious terrorist detention centre in Cuba without being charged for seven years.

Unable to return to China amid fear of persecution from the communist regime, they remained stateless until Dr. Brown invited them to Bermuda as ‘guest workers’.

With the U.K. still angry about the way the deal was handled, the Uyghurs’ status remains unresolved and they cannot leave Bermuda.